Speed limit reduced on stretch of road

County engineer gets pay increase

MORRISON – The Whiteside County Public Works Committee voted Tuesday to decrease the speed limit on a 677-foot stretch of road near Morrison.

The stretch of Black Road, about 6 miles southwest of Morrison, goes through a residential area, County Engineer Russ Renner said. The affected part of the road is west of the road’s intersection with Fenton Road.

The road’s speed limit was not posted, so it was automatically 55 mph, Renner said. The new limit, 30 mph, will take effect when a sign is posted. Renner said he did not know when Fenton Township’s highway commissioner will post the sign.

Somebody wanted the speed limit on that road reduced, Renner said, so a speed study was done.

The committee on Tuesday also voted to increase Renner’s salary, effective Jan. 1, from $99,100 to $103,550. Renner has been receiving 95 percent of the salary recommended for his position by Illinois Department of Transportation. IDOT increased its recommendations for salaries by 2 percent for next year, and Renner’s salary will be 95 percent of the recommended $109,000, or $103,550. At the end of February, when he will have held the position a year, he will receive 100 percent of the recommended salary, pending a satisfactory review by the public works committee.

The committee also voted to appropriate $880,000 from the Motor Fuel Tax allotment for maintenance on county and state highways. The money will be used to purchase items for maintenance.